Ryan Murphy received a heartwarming surprise message from his wife, Bridget Konttinen while standing on the pool deck at the Paris Olympics on Monday night. As he looked up into the stands, he saw his wife holding a sign that revealed they were expecting a baby girl.
Mr Murphy had just won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke. After the medal ceremony, he noticed Konttinen holding up a sign that read, "Ryan, it's a girl." This was the first time he learned the gender of their first child, due in January.
Team USA and USA Swimming shared a photo of the moment on Instagram, showing Konttinen holding the sign with a beaming crowd around her. The post was captioned, "Step 1: Win an Olympic medal. Step 2: Find out you're going to be a girl dad." Among the many congratulatory comments was one from Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
Rowdy Gaines, a retired Olympic swimmer and current NBC analyst, also commented on the reveal, saying, "This is so much bigger than ANY medal. Congrats Murph!!"
Murphy, who is 29, secured his third consecutive medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the Paris Games, adding to his gold from Rio and bronze from Tokyo. As captain of the 2024 USA team, he still holds the Olympic record in the event from his 2016 win.
Despite the joy of earning his third Olympic medal, Murphy said the news of his future child made the night even more special. "I think that just kind of like lit me up," he said. "And really brought this night to a whole other level."
Murphy will return to the pool on Wednesday to compete in the 200-meter backstroke.
